I wasn't a fan of Bethesda before Skyrim - their "quantity over quality, freedom over narrative" philosophy rubbed me the wrong way. Still, this sandbox RPG is a colossal achievement.
Game world is amazing: rich, detailed, meticulously crafted. The biggest surprise is the greater attention to storytelling this time around (see the compelling prologue, as the protagonist is escorted towards his execution before a last-minute escape), and a strong main quest.
Also, dragons. The stroke of genius was making their attacks mostly unscripted, which adds unpredictability. One of the highlights of the game had me leaving all equipment behind for an undercover mission in an enemy base, only to be assaulted by a dragon as I was crossing the courtyard; another memorable moment had my character hiding in a frozen tundra in the middle of nowhere as a dragon and a giant furiously fought each other.
The game still spreads itself too thin - countless subquests are still of the "go to dungeon X and kill this/find that" variety - and once again total freedom gets in the way of narrative and choice&consequence: see for example how you can become Arch-Mage with a relatively untrained protagonist, with everyone else in the guild still a better wizard than you, or how most subplots don't affect each other in any major way.
Still, it's hard not to be intrigued by Skyrim's sprawling scale and scope.
Game world is amazing: rich, detailed, meticulously crafted. The biggest surprise is the greater attention to storytelling this time around (see the compelling prologue, as the protagonist is escorted towards his execution before a last-minute escape), and a strong main quest.
Also, dragons. The stroke of genius was making their attacks mostly unscripted, which adds unpredictability. One of the highlights of the game had me leaving all equipment behind for an undercover mission in an enemy base, only to be assaulted by a dragon as I was crossing the courtyard; another memorable moment had my character hiding in a frozen tundra in the middle of nowhere as a dragon and a giant furiously fought each other.
The game still spreads itself too thin - countless subquests are still of the "go to dungeon X and kill this/find that" variety - and once again total freedom gets in the way of narrative and choice&consequence: see for example how you can become Arch-Mage with a relatively untrained protagonist, with everyone else in the guild still a better wizard than you, or how most subplots don't affect each other in any major way.
Still, it's hard not to be intrigued by Skyrim's sprawling scale and scope.